by Andrew Jones
The death ratio in the world increased dramatically, a report regarding from some of the machines within the Machine Village mentioned. People were dying faster and with greater suffering, it seemed- they came up with a conclusion to the moral to the results. They assumed that the world was wanting to kill off the people faster. And as a result to that, people were going on and on over what hope they can lay to waste. With nothing in mind, most of the people ended themselves before they could see the end themselves.
A door had finally opened at the end of the room of the agonizing light. Blaze quickly grabbed Kryptonite and raced toward the opened door, jumping through before the door could close. It was a loud crash, but the loud screeching sound of the door moving in order to close covered the sound. Kryptonite found himself upside down, as he had apparently hit the wall with great force. He grumbled as he pushed himself back, falling backward.
"Hey, does this place look familiar?" Blaze asked while she stood up on her feet.
The area looked identical to the Eldon Factory, or what others referred it to as simply the abandoned factory. It wasn't long before Blaze confirmed that it was the exact same factory, except it looked much more newer than the last time they had visited. Before, the walls, doors, and floors were all rusted. And each footstep they would make would create a shake on the ground that would give a slight hint that the place is ready to collapse. That wasn't the case here.
Kryptonite jumped on top of a small barrier wall. He dropped his jaw when he saw that they appeared on an overshadowing platform, made so they could watch over all the machines working from below.
"How can this be? Kryptonite asked as he pulled out his journal.
Blaze stepped to him and looked down below to watch the machines, looking up at him afterward, "What are you doing?"
Kryptonite finally stopped at a certain page and pressed his paw on it, "Right here. This factory became abandoned about a hundred years ago. After it became known that Drenawx was using the machines he created to operate this factory, they became fearful of what Drenawx had the potential of and ultimately left. The only known machines that were here was the ones we took out when we met. This is off, why are so many machines here?"
"Are... You sure?" Blaze asked, swiping the book away from his paws and reading the page, "There haven't been this many machines in this factory for about one hundred years, huh? Seems like something we should check out."
Blaze handed Kryptonite back his book and glanced around the little area they were in. The only door that led out of the area was the door they used to get there, and it still shined the rays of light. It was probably not a good idea to go back through that way. So, Blaze turned back and jumped over the edging wall, just when Kryptonite started to quietly shout at her not to jump. She landed behind some metal blocks as some machines were patrolling just ahead of her. She peered around the block and looked at the machines who looked like they were communicating with each other.
"Master says he is creating a God-like figure for us." One of the machines spoke.
The other machine clapped in pure excitement, "I can't wait. It'll really show Master Drenawx cares for what we think as well."
Blaze frowned and whispered, "A God?"
As she whispered, she felt something hit the back of her head, quickly making her look back and finding a digital earplug. She picked up and looked up at Kryptonite who had one as well, but it was up in his ear. Blaze examined it carefully before putting it into her ear and hearing Kryptonite through it.
"What are those machines saying?" Kryptonite asked.
"Kryptonite, do you when a certain God was mentioned last?"
Kryptonite frowned, "That was a long time ago. The Human belief of Gods died out hundreds of years ago."
"What about the machine's beliefs in these Gods?"
"I... I didn't know machines could believe in something like that."
Blaze sighed as she peered at the machines who've gone their separate ways, "One of the machines mentioned that Drenawx was creating a God-like figure."
Kryptonite gasped, "That sounds like big news! Blaze, you investigate down there, and I'll look through this vent. We have to find out what's going on."
"Roger..."
Blaze watched as an opening was found, she quickly dashed passed the machines and made a clear way through to the next door. Pressing her finger on the center of the door, which held a crest of an odd looking symbol, the door opened. But it sounded like the door had many locks associated with it, which stuck her as odd.
As she walked through, she glanced at the room of bowing machines. They were all bowing in a specific row and order. But she felt machines passing by her, ignoring her completely when they went to bow with the other machines. In front of the machines, there was a little platform with a large object that was hidden under a large red blanket. She could also see some chains that were connected to platforms at the top of the room, suggesting the Kryptonite might have made his way upstairs somehow. The chains were strong and thick, as the chains ran under the blanket like they were trying to contain whatever was laying under the red blanket.
"Kryptonite, you alive?" Blaze asked as she stepped away from the room so no machines would be alarmed by her.
"What's up?" Kryptonite immediately responded in the earplug device.
"I... I think I found the God-like figure." She muttered as she looked back into the room. "There's a bunch of machines in here bowing to this big thing... I can't see what it is, it's hidden."
"That's bizarre. It sounds like the machines are worshipping it, you may have found it."
Blaze nodded her head, "I'll keep my eye on it."
She hid behind a table as she watched the actions of the machines. They kept up their bowing, with no sign of stopping. She sighed as she grew tired and sat down. Staring up at all the decoration in the room, she admired the length they'd go to create a room that looked like a church from the old world. They acted like they were in a church, anyway. There were flowers spread out throughout the room, and statues of ambitious people from the old world. She smiled as she took a deep breath, feeling some sort of weight inside her be released. It was like something about this room had an effect on her, a positive effect. It was nice to feel. Just believing that there was a God may be why these machines had hope. Even if there was nothing really under the red blanket, Blaze admired these machines, and it made her feel good.
The candles that hung along the walls all lost their flames, making Blaze gasp from the sudden change in the room as all the machines in the room stood up and raised their arms.
"Become a God." All the machines shouted repeatedly.
This frightened Blaze as she peered at them, still in hiding. However, her attention quickly changed when a man walked in front of them and stopped in front of the being under the red blanket. He had a black mask on, which hid his identity. He raised his arms like the machines did, as well. Blaze had trouble identifying whether the being was a Human or machine, but she continued to watch the ceremony commence.
"I'd like to thank all of you for being here. As you know, I've been trying to find ways of an alternative than releasing the Nawx. Because of this, I've taken the liberty to experiment on Humans, and see why they are truly Humans." The man spoke. "What makes a Human? Is it the emotions they feel? No. Is it the sense of spirit or compassion they feel toward others, that most animals lack? No. It is the hope they have in a world bleeding of ruin. And what has made the Humans of the old world believe in this hope within the old world? A certain God."
The machines started cheering loudly as the man spoke, but Blaze could only scoff at the man's stupidity. He pointed up at the chains, watching as the chains began to pull against the being under the red blanket. It became more and tighter until something broke inside. Each of the four chains pulled normally again, holding four large broken pieces that looked like they represented a cage. The man then turned around and grabbed onto the blanket, pulling on it and revealing what w
as under the blanket.
"Meet your new God, Lilith!" The man shouted.
As he heard the cheers of the crowd, he stood there doing nothing, taking in the immense positive attention of the machines. Blaze gasped, recognizing the being. It looked similar to the other Synths, but this one was in a bigger vault. She had bright blonde hair, and she looked to have been sleeping inside. There was some sort of watery liquid inside, as there was a breathing tube attached to the girl's nose, allowing her to breathe maybe. But the man had suddenly grabbed his mask and tossed it, revealing his face to the machines who weren't surprised by his appearance.
"Drenawx!" Blaze shouts into the loud crowd's cheers.
Kryptonite gasped with her, "W-What's going on, Blaze?"
"This makes no sense... I remember this. This is when he created Lilith, but it was hundreds of years ago..." Blaze muttered as she left the room, thinking deeply, "Is there a possibility that we've gone to the past?"
Kryptonite gasped again, "This Lilith, do you really think she's involved with this Armagna Network?"
Blaze nodded as she looked back into the room, looking directly at Drenawx and frowning, "Yes."
Just as she responded, she saw the eyes of Lilith open. Her eyes shined a bright purple, similar to the likes of Blaze's eyes. But she also opened her eyes and sang in an extremely high tone, sending a heavy gust of wind into the machines. The machines screamed as they grabbed onto anything they could reach, but then the gust of wind reversed, sending each and every machine toward the vault. Once they touched the vault, a dark purple aura hit them and they disappeared.
"Don't resist, this is a necessary sacrifice for your new God!" Drenawx shouted as he walked out of the room and into another door.
Blaze gasped as she saw all the machines shouting and crying. They would all disappear, leaving a quiet room with only Lilith up on the small platform.
"L-Lilith?" Blaze muttered as she walked toward her.
Lilith's eyes were closed like she began her sleep once again. After approaching her, she placed her hands on the glass door which separated them. She observed her body, seeing Lilith's body was weakened, but because of the machine's sacrifice, her body was regaining some of its strength.
"A Synth who feeds on machines..." Blaze whispered as she kept her gaze on Lilith.
Verse XVI
A Personal Enemy
Blaze waited a moment, waited for Lilith to open her eyes again. But she never did, no matter how much times she'd bang against the glass door and shout her name. She didn't understand what was happening, or where they were. Panting from all the banging she did against the vault door, she looked at the door Drenawx had entered. She glared, standing up and walking to the door. The door read, 'Laboratory' on it, so she assumed this is where Drenawx was continuing his work.
She placed her hand on the door and closed her eyes, as a memory chip has somehow opened up. But it wasn't exactly a memory presentation being shown to her, she could just feel how Drenawx was according to her to memory. He was a very shallow and blunt person, at most times. It was guessed that he somehow gained the ability to manipulate and mimic a lot of personalities. He could act like a dependent weakling, then go to a strong individual. It was one of the many wonders that surrounded Drenawx.
But he wasn't really known in the outside world. The machines didn't know how he got all his materials, or how he managed to build this laboratory. It looked too big for one person to build themselves. There were many rumors going around the lab about who Drenawx really was, but Blaze didn't remember any of them because she had simply refused to listen to them.
Finally turning the doorknob of the door, she pushed open the door to see a room of machines. They looked so healthy, and newly built, like the good old days. The same with the lab itself, it shined a bright white, like it was just built a little while ago.
"Kryptonite, where are you?" Blaze asked as she proceeded to walk through the white room, passing by all the cheerful machines.
Blaze didn't get her immediate response, making her sigh softly as she looked into a room that had an open door. It was the library, the library that all the machines would study in. It was a common factor for the machines to read in Drenawx's library, the machines did have a strong sense of knowledge, all of them did really. Even Blaze. She remembers reading a book about survival instincts first, she'd spend all of her free time reading, until she quickly finished it and had to find another book. However, no other book ever interested her after that. Drenawx had thought that by reading this book and having an extreme interest in it, she'd be a great survivalist, which she has proudly become.
She walked into the room and looked through the bookshelves, looking at all the books. It looked to have been hundreds and hundreds of books, just resting on these wooden shelves. Many shelves had holes, of which the machines had chosen a book from that section. Blaze blinked twice as she found a yellow book, the book that had caught her interest so long ago. She reached for it and pulled it out of the bookshelf, letting the book next to it fall back against the other book. She smiled as she pulled it and looked down at it. It looked the exact same as before. But her smile quickly vanished as she looked at it, seeing nothing inside- just blank pages. Her head tilted as she turned the pages quicker and quicker until she closed the back of the book. Putting it back on the shelf, she turned to the door out of the library and saw Kryptonite walk in.
"Hey! I was trying to talk to you through the device!" Blaze yelled at him as she ran to him.
Kryptonite gasped as he noticed her, feeling up by his ear and not feeling the device, "Odd, it must've fallen off back there. I'm sorry about that." He answered.
Blaze frowned and crossed her arms, "Whatever... Did you find anything useful?"
He shook his head. But as he shook his head, Blaze raised an eyebrow as she noticed something odd about him.
"Kryptonite... What happened to you?" She asked him.
Kryptonite tilted his head, "Hmm?"
"You're all fluff... What happened to your machine=half of your body?"
Kryptonite gasped as he quickly turned and ran out of the room. Blaze called out to him, quickly following him. As she rushed out of the room, she saw all the machines standing up and staring at her, turning their heads as she ran further down the hall after him. Blaze tried to ignore it, but it scared her a bit. It didn't distract her from catching Kryptonite. She dove forward and grabbed him, allowing both of them to roll on the ground as she held him in her arms. As she opened her eyes after the incident, she looked down and saw that Kryptonite had disappeared. She grunted while standing up again. She was suddenly in the heart of the laboratory.
She could recognize the vaults from when she lived there, she could even see her own vault. She grunted in deep emotional pain as she took her small steps toward her vault. She looked deeply inside and saw herself in the vault. The Blaze that was inside the vault looked much younger- her hair was shorter, her body's physicality hadn't developed yet, it was like this Blaze was still being developed.
She quickly looked back as she saw Drenawx standing behind her. He had a concerned look on his face as he looked at her, but he didn't say anything to her. A tear fell down her eye as she looked upon Drenawx, her heart had started pumping heavier than it has ever before, and she started to pant heavily.
"W-Well!? Say something!" Blaze yelled across at Drenawx.
Drenawx smiled at her, "I knew you'd change your mind, Blaze."
"W-What are you talking about!?"
Drenawx began walking around her, seeing Blaze turn toward him as he made his way around her, "I knew your plans from the start. I knew you were planning to take my precious machines away from this place. You have one simple problem, and throughout all the examinations to help you, you still don't change your opinion on this lab! This isn't the hellish place you think it is, Blaze! This is the only safe spot in the world!"
Blaze whined and held her arm as she watched him, "No... You're wrong! What
happened to Augur!?"
Drenawx laughed as he stopped his walking, "Augur? Does he go by that name anymore? I think he goes by Drakkar nowadays."
Blaze's eyes widened as she fell to her knees, "Drakkar is... Augur?"
"You stupid machine! You think you're capable of feeling love?"
"I don't know... I felt something... I thought it was love."
Suddenly, a hardened ball is shot toward Drenawx and hits him on the back of his head. He grunted as he quickly rubbed the back of his head, growling in frustration as he turned around. But once he turned, Kryptonite ran straight into his face as he glided on his paraglider, sending Drenawx to the ground.
"Don't listen to him, Blaze! This would isn't real!" Kryptonite shouted as he landed right on her shoulder with style. "This world is your past, but it was manipulated so you'd give into your sadness, so you may become corrupted by the Armagna Network."
Blaze looked up at him and poked his tummy, "You're... Real, yes?"
Kryptonite laughed, as he tried to push her hand away from his tummy, "Y-Yes! T-That tickles!"
Drenawx stood up, as his voice grew darker, "That teddy bear you got there is rather smart..."
Kryptonite scoffed, "Old man, you're looking at a fight you cannot win. You might as well tell us how to stop the Armagna Network."
"How do you know that I'm involved with it?"
"We followed the trail. It went from the Machine Village to the Colosseum in the desert, and then the two Synths by the name of Nova and Atreyu. They're all of your creations, so tell us!" Blaze yelled.
Drenawx chuckled, "You think if I don't talk, you'd be able to kill me? Do you wonder how I've been able to survive all these years? These hundreds of years? I'm no Human, I'm a damn machine myself. I just built myself. I was originally designed to be a hacking tool. But as I kept hacking and hacking, I've been able to gather bits of scrap, enough to create a mechanical body and hack my servers into it. It's how I've gotten the idea to build these machines in the first place."